Challenges for Private Sector Conservation: Sanderson’s The Future of Conservation in Tierra del Fuego

To date, global protection of biodiversity has been largely dominated by governmental actors. Ecosystems transcending state boundaries find themselves at the mercy of international agreements, for better or for worse. Steven Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) suggested for worse in The Future of Conservation, but he gave hope for more effective environmental conservation, if the private sector could gain more standing globally. The plan that Sanderson created for self-assertion of nongovernmental environmental groups describes approaches typically endorsed not by NGOs but by governments: global alliances, political strategy, human-centered conservation, and economic development. This Note isolates the current use of these strategies by NGOs or in private environmental preserves and examines their efficacy for successful conservation, and finds Sanderson’s argument to have merit. NGOs are employing these concepts in environmental management and successfully overcoming some private sector pitfalls.

A new, privately owned preserve in Tierra del Fuego provides an ideal forum for comprehensive implementation of Sanderson’s plan-and the WCS has discretion to manage the land accordingly. Ultimately, I predict successful conservation here, based on strategies previously advocated by its managing organization.